Scotland Claims Narrow Victory Against Greece to Secure First-Leg Advantage in Nations League

Scotland handed Greece only their third defeat in 13 UEFA Nations League (UNL) home fixtures, triumphing 1-0 in the first leg of their play-off matchup.

After a lacklustre start to the opening half, the first significant opportunity fell to Scott McTominay, who sent a shot wide following a scramble from Andy Robertson’s corner delivery.

The Napoli midfielder subsequently earned a penalty shortly after the half-hour mark, as Lazaros Rota seemed to catch his foot in the box. McTominay took the responsibility and confidently delivered his 12th goal for Scotland into the bottom corner, sending Konstantinos Tzolakis the wrong way in the process.

Che Adams nearly doubled Scotland’s advantage before the break, as a terrible pass from Konstantelias was intercepted by Billy Gilmour. Adams was played in and opted to take a shot immediately.

Fortunately for the goalkeeper, he recovered just in time to make the save, while Adams later saw another effort narrowly miss the far post seconds after.

Kostas Tsimikas nearly found the back of the net from a free-kick in injury time, but it had been Scotland’s half overall as Greece struggled to register a shot on target.

The hosts came out stronger in the second half, with Christos Tzolis actually finding the net from a corner routine, but the ball had gone out of play at the back post.

Scotland finally made their mark 25 minutes into the second half when John McGinn attempted a long-range shot, which sailed over the bar.

However, Greece quickly regained control and came close to equalising when Tzolis struck the post from close range after getting ahead of his marker at the back post, but ultimately couldn’t convert.

Greece had previously secured five wins in their last six games under Ivan Jovanovic, making this victory all the more commendable for Steve Clarke’s squad, who now possess an advantage going into the second leg at home.